Need to improve my score

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I need help in improving my score!

I got my first credit card in Jan 2009 and trying to build a good credit rating since then. I got a second one in Apr 2010. Both of them have a $1000 limit.  I do not have any late payments, and the general usage is around 70-80% of the limit on the cards. I do not have any mortage/auto loans. I am financially stable with a steady income and zero debt.

Though it is been about 18 months, my score is very low (<600) . I do not know what I am doing wrong..

Recently, I got lured by a bank in to appying for a "offers" card, and got denied. I got to know that there was a hard check on the score which still lowered the score. I had also requested for a increase in limit on my existing cards and got denied on both.

I want to open a Wells Fargo checking/savings account.  I already have c/s accounts with 3 other financial institutions. Can I go ahead, or need to wait for some months? I heard that opening an account is a hard check on the score. Please suggest

What else should I do to improve my score?

thanks,

Sharath

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I need help in improving my score!

I got my first credit card in Jan 2009 and trying to build a good credit rating since then. I got a second one in Apr 2010. Both of them have a $1000 limit.  I do not have any late payments, and the general usage is around 70-80% of the limit on the cards. I do not have any mortage/auto loans. I am financially stable with a steady income and zero debt.

Though it is been about 18 months, my score is very low (<600) . I do not know what I am doing wrong..

Recently, I got lured by a bank in to appying for a "offers" card, and got denied. I got to know that there was a hard check on the score which still lowered the score. I had also requested for a increase in limit on my existing cards and got denied on both.

I want to open a Wells Fargo checking/savings account.  I already have c/s accounts with 3 other financial institutions. Can I go ahead, or need to wait for some months? I heard that opening an account is a hard check on the score. Please suggest

What else should I do to improve my score?

thanks,

Sharath

[MarineVietVet]

Hello and welcome.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

I need help in improving my score!

I got my first credit card in Jan 2009 and trying to build a good credit rating since then. I got a second one in Apr 2010. Both of them have a $1000 limit.  I do not have any late payments, and the general usage is around 70-80% of the limit on the cards. The key is how much of your credit limits report each month and not how much you use them during the month. I would only have one of the cards report a small (1-9% of credit limit) balance on the statement and then pay in full before the due date to avoid any finance charges. The other card should always report a zero balance on each monthly statement. FICO likes to see half or less of revolving accounts show a balance each month.

I do not have any mortage/auto loans. Mix of credit is 10% of your total score so adding a mortgage or installment loan would help a little but I would never advise aomeone to go into debt for a few points. Perhaps sometime in the future that's something you can look at.

I am financially stable with a steady income and zero debt.

Though it is been about 18 months, my score is very low (<600) . I do not know what I am doing wrong..

Recently, I got lured by a bank in to appying for a "offers" card, and got denied. I got to know that there was a hard check on the score which still lowered the score. I had also requested for a increase in limit on my existing cards and got denied on both.

I want to open a Wells Fargo checking/savings account.  I already have c/s accounts with 3 other financial institutions. Can I go ahead, or need to wait for some months? I heard that opening an account is a hard check on the score. Please suggest  Sometimes a hard pull is required to open an account. It depends on the institution. I personally would not do this for awhile. Let everything age for a bit and work on that revolving utilization and continue to pay everything on time.

What else should I do to improve my score?

thanks,

Sharath

---

[MarineVietVet]

Hello,

I need help in improving my score!

I got my first credit card in Jan 2009 and trying to build a good credit rating since then. I got a second one in Apr 2010. Both of them have a $1000 limit.  I do not have any late payments, and the general usage is around 70-80% of the limit on the cards. The key is how much of your credit limits report each month and not how much you use them during the month. I would only have one of the cards report a small (1-9% of credit limit) balance on the statement and then pay in full before the due date to avoid any finance charges. The other card should always report a zero balance on each monthly statement. FICO likes to see half or less of revolving accounts show a balance each month.

I do not have any mortage/auto loans. Mix of credit is 10% of your total score so adding a mortgage or installment loan would help a little but I would never advise aomeone to go into debt for a few points. Perhaps sometime in the future that's something you can look at.

I am financially stable with a steady income and zero debt.

Though it is been about 18 months, my score is very low (<600) . I do not know what I am doing wrong..

Recently, I got lured by a bank in to appying for a "offers" card, and got denied. I got to know that there was a hard check on the score which still lowered the score. I had also requested for a increase in limit on my existing cards and got denied on both.

I want to open a Wells Fargo checking/savings account.  I already have c/s accounts with 3 other financial institutions. Can I go ahead, or need to wait for some months? I heard that opening an account is a hard check on the score. Please suggest  Sometimes a hard pull is required to open an account. It depends on the institution. I personally would not do this for awhile. Let everything age for a bit and work on that revolving utilization and continue to pay everything on time.

What else should I do to improve my score?

thanks,

Sharath

[Anonymous]

@  marinevietvet,

thanks for your suggestions -

By balance, do you mean the amount that I have spent, or the amount which remains after the payment due date? Due to auto-payments, my balance on due date is always zero.Can I request a bank to report only a small balance?

For the other card to report zero balance, should I pay it off full on the statement date ( or close to it) and not wait for the due date?

Should I leave a revolving balance (not pay off the spent amount in full) and pay some interest to improve the score?

thanks,

Sharath

[Lel]

Locking this thread and redirecting to your other thread on the CC board, which contains the same question and to which you have received more replies.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Credit-card-payments-and-suggestions-to-improve-the-sco...